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EASTERN COURIER, JULY 27, 2011
NEWS
Forget moving - Get a stair lift
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Suicide forum
open to public
Empowering people and communi-
ties with basic and practical ways of
keeping their loved ones safe is one
of the key aims behind a Mental
Health Foundation forum in Manu-
kau in September.
The foundation s annual suicide
prevention forum How Do We Talk
About Suicide? is open to the public.
It is on September 7 from 8am to
5pm at the TelstraClear Pacific
Events Centre and will also be
streamed live on the internet and
recorded.
Foundation chief executive Judi
Clements says anyone with an
interest in suicide prevention is wel-
come.
The forum will be very inter-
active, with panel discussions,
speakers and plenty of time for
questions from the audience.
Topics will include supporting
people at risk, warning signs,
suicide in communities, the
challenges of suicide prevention via
social media, indigenous well-being
and finding hope and support after
the loss of a loved one.
The full speakers list is yet to be
confirmed but will include suicide
survivors and bereaved people, GPs,
counsellors and psychologists, social
and youth workers, Maori health
workers, kaumatua and media rep-
resentatives.
Go to www.spinz.org.nz to regis-
ter. Registration costs $65 but a
limited number of registration fee
waivers are available for those on
low incomes, which can be applied
for on the website.
This candidate's no show pony
By MATT BOWEN
Standing for you: Labour's Chao-Fu Wu at his private physiotherapy practice in Papatoetoe.
Photo: MATT BOWEN
Show pony seems to be one of
Chao-Fu Wu s favourite phrases.
It slips from the 29-year-old s
mouth three times during his first
interview as the Labour Party s can-
didate for the Botany electorate.
As November s general election
approaches expect to hear it a lot
more.
MrWuusesittomarkaline
between Labour and, presumably,
the National Party.
The political newcomer endorses
Labour s policies and plans to emu-
late the party s ministers who are
all reliable and trustworthy people .
We may not be very good in
terms of show pony stuff appealing
to people as in, yes, you look great
and you re very charming, he says.
With the downturn in the econ-
omy and all the other issues we
have I think what we need is people
that will do real things.
They have a vision and policy to
do something rather than just, hey,
I look good on television or paper.
Mr Wu was born in Taiwan and
immigrated in the early 1990s with
his parents and siblings.
The unmarried man has two
sisters -- one older, one younger.
He
attended Manurewa s
Hillpark Primary School,
Greenmeadows Intermediate and
Manurewa High School before
studying at Auckland University to
become a primary school teacher.
He went on to learn physio-
therapy at AUT and now runs his
own private practice in Papatoetoe.
He speaks Hokkien and Chinese
and has worked as an interpreter
since leaving high school.
He s not religious per se but
claims to have close ties to the
Buddhist Temple and various
churches.
Those ties and his cultural back-
ground are an advantage, he says,
considering the
electorate s
demographics.
At the 2006 census, 33.5 percent
were Asian and 13 percent Pacific
Islander with 49 percent born over-
seas.
I personally agree with policy
that will bring this country forward,
that will really stimulate and build
a strong economy, Mr Wu says.
Botany has a lot of small and
medium enterprises and business
owners and because of this econ-
omic mess they re suffering.
The current national govern-
ment has no plan, let s face it.
When Mr Wu is successful in
the National stronghold he wants to
avoid the show pony politician trap.
Our role is to listen to the people,
be available to them and help them
resolve problems at the highest
level where possible.
That s opposed to other
candidates or sitting MPs who are
more show pony all the time at cer-
emonies and opening functions .